Comments: 1-15, 16-30
Bolts on right rear tire came loose repeatedly, necessitating daily tightening.
Battery failed at 6000 miles.
Cup holder was broken on the show-room floor. Replacement is shoddy and virtually useless, until it too broke.
Plastic gear shift cover cracked and broke at 7000 miles.
Driver power window comes off-track. It has been 'fixed' between 5-7 times. I don't use the window anymore. Also some internal components are scoring the glass.
Oxygen sensor malfunction--this caused rather frightening stalls and loss of power at random times and at speed.
Wiring harness recall.
Battery failure at 6000 miles.
Mechanics at dealership stole fuses from the engine fuse-box.
Air-damn fell off car at 12,000 miles. It is now secured with a coat-hanger.
Alternator failed at 29,000 miles.
Engine thermostat recall.
Fuel door must be opened from manual over-ride in trunk. This was 'fixed' twice.
Left speaker shorts out.
CD player skips and sometimes won't load.
Radiator warning light is illuminated for no reason.
Drivers wiper has too much down pressure causing blades to disintegrate and the naked blades score the windshield.
On paper the car looks good, and when running the car is quite pleasant.
But not only has the car had numerous problems, but the general incompetence of the mechanical personnel at the dealership has defied all logic. The car has been to the dealership more than 12 times in less than a year. Each time it would remain, sometimes for over a week. More galling, the ever-loosening bolts (on the rear hub) took 5 visits before they figured out what the problem was.
Also, things were stolen from my car. And I can understand that--but theft of fuses is a bit too audacious.
My Ford has become a 'life experience' of existential and Kafkaesque dimensions. I am to this day amazed that I actually paid 'them' for this torture. (I had to rent cars so often that the people at the rental agency expressed concern for my plight. I also was on a first name basis with not one, but three consecutive managers at the dealership.)
As of this moment my Contour is sitting lifeless in the parking lot of Publix. At least I hope it is still there.
I curse the name of Ford and all that is associated with it.
I'm sorry you've had such trouble. Wasn't any of it covered in the warranty? Most of the problems sound like they could be. On my contour the transmission went out. So, I told the dealer, they gave me a loner and had it fixed in a week. My deductible was only 50 bucks.
Same car here. 1996 ford contour. 2.5l. Same wiring harness problem, but repaired under recall notice (no charge). Cup holder broken. The gas cap release works about 80% of the time. (need to open the trunk the other 20%). I completely agree that Ford dealerships are the new 21st century "mafia". I was told that I had to replace 4 oygen sensors and was quoted pricing for all four. Did I mention that the car only has two sensors. I asked the same "service mangler" to replace the cabin air filter. He said that he never heard of such a thing. I told him what it was, where it was, how to replace it (the screws) and asked him to just do it. At the end of the day, he told me "there is no cabin filter for the Contour". Went back two months later (hey I love abuse) to have the PCV valve replaced. The guy told me that since my car had 110,000 miles, I shouldn't bother replacing, but maybe i'd like to trade in for a new one. I am getting the PCV valve replaced at a local repair shop (not FORD).
BOTTOM LINE: Dealer service shops ONLY want to do business with people who don't ask questions, have fat wallets, and don't care if they are being cheated.
I completely agree. I hate the Ford Contour. I too have been forced to rent so many times it almost feels strange to drive my Contour. I bought my Contour out of warranty, it's a 1998. It has cost me thousands to fix. And, like you, my radiator light refuses to stay off. The entire radiator assembly has even been replaced and the light still comes on for no reason. I hate the Ford Contour. I HATE IT!
I believe the problem is'nt just Contour its all ford products,I have a 98 Ranger inside lights won't go off, had to remove bulbs. It takes about 15 min. to fill gas tank, pump shuts off like the tanks full have to go really slow, gearshift knob fell off, center console on seat broke as in no longer connected to seat. Truck won't start if humidiy is high or its raining. Ac and cruise don't work it only has 65k miles.
I also own a Ford Contour GL ('95) and have had numerous problems with it as well - most of which aren't covered under the extended warranty that I originally purchased (causing me to finally cancel it). I was also told at the dealership that any recalls will only be replaced on the vehicle once that item actually fails, causing more grief.
It seems that a lot of the same things go wrong with each of these vehicles. My driver power window also came off track, causing the glass to become scored. My oxygen sensor has been replaced once in the time that I've owned it (four years) and it is now needing replacement once again. My thermostat has also failed, and my left speaker also shorts out. Frustratingly, my fuel door must always be opened from the manual over-ride in the trunk as well, and the windshield wiper blades need to be replaced virtually every season, since no matter what type I purchase, the naked blades end up scoring the windshield. Good luck to all the rest of you!
It appears that many of these problems that you're mentioning are with items that on ANY car will require replacement or maintenance. The O2 sensors, thermostat, PCV valve, and certainly the wiper blades will require replacement at various intervals. And other problems are covered by your warranty. I know some dealerships have bad service, but you can take your car to other Ford dealerships and you can also take your problems up the corporate ladder.
I have a 95 Contour SE that is as of tonight, broken down in a parking lot. We bought the car used, but we were told the only things wrong were the power steering seal leak and the air needed to be recharged. I wish that was all!! A week after we got it the check engine light, coolant light and air bag lights all came on. We started having problems with the shifting, and we were told it was the timing chains and guide arms. We replaced those for about 800.00, and it ran fine for two days! We took it to the Ford dealer to have it hooked up to the diagnostic machine where they told us the wires were corroded so badly they could not test it. Good news, the wiring harness was under a recall warranty. They had our car for a month! They broke the hood latch, radiator, cup holder and even a windshield wiper. They also broke a part of the air conditioning unit and all the freon we had just put in leaked out. After that month they had our car we took it back the same day we picked it up to have them fix what they had broken. They said our car was fixed when we picked it up the second time, but 5 miles down the road it was doing the same thing. They then told us it was the MLP Sensor, so we had it replaced. We picked it up and within minutes knew it was not fixed. We got fed up with them, things they had broken were still not fixed. We went to turn our lights on and the entire unit fell out of the dash! We took it to a different mechanic and he said the transmission was bad. We spent over 1000.00 for a new transmission! For a few weeks everything was fine, then the alternator went out, then the starter, the oxygen sensor and the EGR valve. A month or two later the fuel pump and water pump both went out within weeks of each other. We finally had to take the dealer to court because of the things they broke. They settled after 3 months, but only for the court fees, rental cars and parts and labor for the parts they broke. As of right now the car is broken down again. When we tried to drive it we got a few feet and the rpm's would not go up then it died. We tried to start it again a few minutes later. The windshield wipers and headlights came on, and our power seat moved back on its own. The parts store and a mechanic said it sounds like a short in the wiring. The wiring we had replaced less than a year ago. We have put over 3000.00 into this car fixing different things and we have had it. We just paid over 400.00 in the last month for new tires too, what a waste.
Bought a 97 Contour Sport, 2.5L in 98- ran well for 60k miles then things just went awry. Timing belt replaced, as expected, but needed serpentine belt replaced as well. Then wheelhub asesmbly, brake rotors, alternator and finally what I was told by a 'mechanic" was transmission problems, but probably was just a sensor- MLP sensor. Luckily purchased extended coverage form an ins. co. after 60k miles- they didn't even inspect the vehicle and now have a lemon on their hands. Latest thing to go is the left front power window. When I complianed to Ford Customer Relations they in effect said to suck wind. This will be my one and only Ford vehicle.
Ford Contour. Wow. I thought my father-in-law (a Ford Man, God save 'I'm) was doing us a favor by giving us a car in exchange for the one my wife and I were making payments which we could not afford.
I'd gladly pay double the monthly payment to have avoided the problems with the Contour.
I am writing this after having had the engine rebuilt (father-in-law insisted on it and even paid the 2 grand to do so, and luckily it was not at the dealership). But after sinking $300 into a sensor for the EGR that caused our engine light to stay on and fail inspection, the car ran rough for two or three days until the engine light came back on. I thought we blew the sensor.
No, this time it was the fuel injectors.
This morning my wife and I packed up the baby and went out to start 'er up to take a ride out to the Farmer's Market, and the car cranked and cranked, but would not turn over. Oh, the windshield wipers work fine though... they come on everytime you turn the ignition key, even though the wipers are turned off. Yes, the fuel door has to be opened manually (I just got used to popping the trunk every time I pull into the gas station) cup holders have been gone since who knows when, but the good news, after reading all the previous posts?
My driver side window is on track!
So there's MY silver lining in the storm cloud of the Ford Contour.
I own a 1996 Ford Contour Se. It has over 78,000 miles on it and still works perfectly. There has only been one issue with it and that was the needing of a replacement switch for the air conditioner. The axles are perfect, the engine performs as beautiful as ever, everything is the same as when I had bought it. I have heard of others with 1998 and 1999 contours who have had axle and brake problems, but I think that ford had changed their parts for those newer models. The 1996 models with the 6 cylinders just rocks. I don't know why it still works so well after reading all the other comments... I guess I just have something to look forward to... when that crap starts happening I'm melting down my car!
If you are having trouble with your ford contour file a complaint with the NHTSA and force a recall issue.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
I bought a 1996 Contour with 94,000 miles a couple days after buying the car I noticed that the check engine light had came on. I took the car in to see what the code was on the check engine light and they said it was bank 1 sensor 1. So i replaced that sensor. and reset the check engine light. well then i took it for a drive and it came on again. so i took it back in and they said system to lean. well then about two weeks after when i would be driving the car and i would come to a stop at like a red light or stop sign and when i press the gas to go the car would stall. this happened to me atleast 5 times a day or more. well then it got worse when i was driving the car it would just stall while i was driving . and i would loose steering. the car has been sitting for about 5 months now because we cannot get it to start we replaced everything.. here is a list..
Brakes
Spark plugs and wires
02 sensor
radiater hoses
thermostat
and many more...
i got to drive this car for only about 2 months out of the 8 months i had it..
Anyone have any thoughts on what is wrong with it ?
The Ford Contour oh where do I begin. I bought my Ford Contour in February of 2005 I purchased it used. It now sits in the parking lot of my home where it will not start. I have two ford vehicles as a matter of fact and neither one of them is running. I left home one day and went about a quarter of a mile when my Contour just died on me. I have replaced many of the fuses on it three times as they seem to keep dying. I have had numerous people look at it where as no one can tell me whats wrong with it. Could someone please help me. When I buy another vehicle it will defiantly not be a Ford (Fix Or Repair Daily).
Ah Yes. The FORD Contour...
My wife has a 1995 model we bought used two years ago. It currently has 175,000 miles. I do all the repairs. The car looks cherry from the outside, and the interior is spotless.
On the way home (to our house) from the former owner's, the passenger disk brake rotor completely separated from the hub. That was a horrendous sounding noise. The wheel did not fall off, just the ring of the brake rotor came loose from the hub. It rattled along between the pads until we got home.
The second thing I had to replace was the serpentine belt idler.
So far, I have replaced all four suspension springs. Both rear springs broke, and the passenger side front broke.
I replaced the drivers side wheel bearing last year. The passenger side is starting to make noise when we go around a corner.
The air conditioning pump bearing failed. I bypassed the a/c pump with the "non" a/c belt.
Last Thursday, the motor started making a crazy grinding noise. My wife was driving and I had her pull into the local O'Riley's auto parts. I figured the serpentine tensioner went again. Of course it was night time, and about 5 degrees fahrenheit. The store did not have the part on hand, and the Mag Light batteries were almost dead. She started it up, and the horrendous noise began. The car died twice. She kept running long enough to get home. I removed the serpentine belt and checked the tensioner. It is fine. With the belt removed, I started the motor. Horrendous grinding noise is still present. I removed the lid from the TIMING BELT and it has about 1.5 inch of free play. Welp, that's not right! I can't believe it still runs.
My wife wants a "new" car. I think this one can be kept going for another 60,000 miles.
I have a '99 Ford Contour apart from a couple of sensors needing to be replaced, in my opinion too early (after the warranty expired, but before 70k miles,) the car has been good. I have two major complaints and they are an oil leak that my dealership has not fixed, and that would cost me too much to fix now. And rust appearing on the bottom seams on all four doors and the trunk lid. Other than that, my Contour has served me well. Unfortunately, I am getting older and at 6' 3" I am starting to feel like I need a bigger car.